Alvin's Educational Technology Blog

Like most people in Ohio, I was glued to the TV tonight to find out who the Buckeyes would play in the championship game.  With Fox dragging out the announcement of each of the four BCS games, we were talking about how important a playoff would be.

It is hilarious to hear the different sports commentators talk about the failing BCS system, but that a playoff will never happen.  I heard no less than ten different announcers say, “it is not going to happen for an assortment of reasons.”  There is only one reason it will not happen: money. 

The individual bowl games make a ton of money for the individual sponsors.  We will have these bowls forever because everyone makes a lot of money.  I heard that the Big Ten lost $4.5 million after Illinois beat Ohio State and it was assumed that the Big Ten would only send one team to a BCS bowl.  That’s one team’s share for playing in the game.  Imagine what the sponsors are making.

Here is a way to keep what we have, yet have a playoff for the championship.  Take the top four teams and have their bowl games count as the semifinal round of the playoff.  These two bowls could be the Rose and Orange or the Fiesta and Sugar… it doesn’t really matter.  We only need to make sure that the top four teams play in the these two bowls.  The winners play the next week in the championship.

Last year they added the extra game at the site of the championship.  Did anyone else notice that Georgia and Hawaii are playing in this year’s Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 1.  Then, one week later, the BCS Championship is at the same location.  They did this last year with the Fiesta Bowl and then the BCS Championship.  Two years ago, is was Texas winning the Rose Bowl, not the BCS Championship game.

I think we can pick four teams with a lot less controversy than picking two teams.  As an added bonus, the champion would have to win in back to back weeks.  That is something a real championship team can do.